Knight v. State Univ. of N.Y. At Stony Brook
| Decision Date | 16 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | 13-CV-0481(JS)(GRB) |
| Parties | ANTHONY KNIGHT, Plaintiff, v. STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT STONY BROOK, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York |
APPEARANCES
For Plaintiff:
Anthony P. Consiglio, Esq.
New York, NY 10007
For Defendant:
Toni E. Logue, Esq.
NYS Attorney General's Office
200 Old Country Road, Suite 460
Mineola, NY 11501
Plaintiff Anthony Knight ("Plaintiff") commenced this action against defendant State University of New York at Stony Brook ("Defendant") asserting claims of racial discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq. ("Title VII"). Currently pending before the Court is Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint. For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART.
The Court presumes general familiarity with the factual background of this case, which is discussed in the Court's November 12, 2013 Memorandum and Order (the "November Order," Docket Entry 11).
Plaintiff alleges that he worked as an electrician at a construction project on Defendant's premises from April 2011, until he was "terminated" on October 24, 2011. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 7, 17.) According to Plaintiff, Defendant employed him as a "special funds estimate" ("SFE") employee. (Am. Compl. ¶ 8.)
In October 2011, Plaintiff discovered the phrase "remember you are still a nigger" written in a portable construction toilet and believed that it was directed towards him. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 12-13.) Plaintiff reported the writing to his foreman. (Am. Compl. ¶ 14.) After Plaintiff's foreman said the writing did not offend him, Plaintiff "escalated" his complaint to his shop steward and the Vice President of his Union. (Am Compl. ¶¶ 15-16.) "About a week later, on October 24, 2011, [P]laintiff was terminated." (Am. Compl. ¶ 17.)
Plaintiff commenced this action on January 28, 2013 and Defendant moved to dismiss the Complaint on May 24, 2013. (See Docket Entry 4.) The Court, in its November Order,dismissed Plaintiff's Complaint for failure to sufficiently allege that he is an employee of Defendant, but granted leave to replead. (Nov. Order at 9-11.)
Plaintiff's Amended Complaint essentially reasserts the allegations in his original Complaint. However, new to the Amended Complaint are allegations regarding Plaintiff's pay stubs. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 9-10.) Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that his pay stubs reflect wages paid by Thomas P. DiNapoli, the New York State Comptroller, who was acting as Defendant's agent. (Am. Compl. ¶ 9.) Plaintiff further alleges that such payment from DiNapoli was remuneration for work performed by Plaintiff at Defendant's premises. (Am. Compl. ¶ 10.)
The Court will first address the applicable legal standard on a motion to dismiss before turning to Defendant's motion specifically.
In deciding Rule 12(b)(6) motions to dismiss, the Court applies a "plausibility standard," which is guided by "[t]wo working principles." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 173 L. Ed. 2d 868 (2009); accord Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 71-72 (2d Cir. 2009). First, although the Court must accept all allegations as true, this "tenet" is "inapplicable to legal conclusions;" thus, "[t]hreadbarerecitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678; accord Harris, 572 F.3d at 72. Second, only complaints that state a "plausible claim for relief" can survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679. Determining whether a complaint does so is "a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Id.; accord Harris, 572 F.3d at 72.
In deciding a motion to dismiss, the Court is confined to "the allegations contained within the four corners of [the] complaint." Pani v. Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, 152 F.3d 67, 71 (2d Cir. 1998). This has been interpreted broadly to include any document attached to the Complaint, any statements or documents incorporated in the Complaint by reference, any document on which the Complaint heavily relies, and anything of which judicial notice may be taken. See Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 152-53 (2d Cir. 2002) (citations omitted); Kramer v. Time Warner Inc., 937 F.2d 767, 773 (2d Cir. 1991).
Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff's Amended Complaint on the grounds that Plaintiff has not sufficiently alleged that he is an employee under Title VII and that he has failed to otherwise state claims for racial discrimination andretaliation. (Def.'s Br., Docket Entry 13-1, at 5-12.) The Court will address each of these arguments in turn.
Defendant maintains that Plaintiff has not sufficiently alleged that he is an employee of Defendant because the Amended Complaint asserts that Plaintiff is an SFE worker, not necessarily Defendant's employee. (Def.'s Br. at 7.) The Court disagrees.
Under Title VII, it is unlawful for an employer "to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(a)(1). In order for a plaintiff to properly assert a Title VII claim, the plaintiff must be an employee of the defendant. See Deshpande v. Medisys Health Network, Inc., No. 07-CV-0375, 2010 WL 1539745, at *10 (E.D.N.Y. Apr. 16, 2010) .
Title VII defines an employee as "an individual employed by an employer." 42 U.S.C. § 2000e(f). As stated in the November Order (Nov. Order at 7), in parsing out this "rather elliptical statutory definition," the first inquiry is whether the plaintiff has received some form of remunerationfrom the defendant. See York v. Ass'n of Bar of City of N.Y., 286 F.3d 122, 125-26 (2d Cir. 2002). The second step of the inquiry is to consider the thirteen factors articulated in Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 490 U.S. 730, 751, 109 S. Ct. 2166, 104 L. Ed. 2d 811 (1989). See Eisenberg v. Advance Relocation & Storage, Inc., 237 F.3d 111, 113-14 (2d Cir. 2000); Harrington, 2010 WL 2178504, at *2. These factors are:
[1] the hiring party's right to control the manner and means by which the product is accomplished . . . [;] [2] the skill required; [3] the source of the instrumentalities and tools; [4] the location of the work; [5] the duration of the relationship between the parties; [6] whether the hiring party has the right to assign additional projects to the hired party; [7] the extent of the hired party's discretion over when and how long to work; [8] the method of payment; [9] the hired party's role in hiring and paying assistants; [10] whether the work is part of the regular business of the hiring party; [11] whether the hiring party is in business; [12] the provision of employee benefits; [13] and the tax treatment of the hired party.
Reid, 490 U.S. at 751-52, 109 S. Ct. at 2178-79, 104 L. Ed. 2d 811.
"In balancing the Reid factors, a court must disregard those factors that, in light of the facts of a particular case, are (1) irrelevant or (2) of 'indeterminate' weight . . . ." Eisenberg, 237 F.3d at 114. Further, it is important to notethat no single factor is dispositive, and the "greatest emphasis" is placed on the hiring party's right to control the "manner and means" by which the product is accomplished. Id.
As to remuneration, Plaintiff has amended his Complaint to assert that he was paid by the New York State Comptroller acting as Defendant's agent. (Am. Compl. ¶ 9.) Plaintiff further alleges the wages he received from the New York State Comptroller were remuneration for work Plaintiff performed at Defendant's premises. (Am. Compl. ¶ 10.) The pay stubs that Plaintiff has provided, which are incorporated into the Complaint by reference, do indeed show hourly wages from the Comptroller with Defendant as the return addressee.
Neither party has submitted any case law regarding whether an alleged agency relationship and payment arrangement such as the ones Plaintiff herein alleges are sufficient to show remuneration. Nonetheless, the limited precedent on this topic suggests that Plaintiff's allegations are sufficient, at least at this stage, to assert remuneration as Defendant's employee. See Harrington v. Potter, No. 09-CV-1322, 2010 WL 2178504, at *2 (); Deshpande, 2010 WL 1539745, at *12 (); Gaffney v. Dep't of Info. Tech. & Telecomm., 536 F. Supp. 2d 445, 461 (S.D.N.Y. 2008) ( ).
Thus, turning to the Reid factors, the Court initially notes that, although the Amended Complaint addresses a number of factors, it is also silent as to a number of factors as well. Specifically, the Amended Complaint does not raise any specific allegations as to the third, sixth, seventh, ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth factors. This is not fatal to Plaintiff's case, however. In fact, the Reid factors require a factual inquiry and balancing inappropriate at the motion to dismiss stage. See Harrington, 2010 WL 2178504, at *3 (...
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